Introduction
Practical experience is a valuable step toward achieving better results in the profession. This essay will state the essential points of knowledge that I have obtained while visiting Alamance Community College (ACC). Mainly, constant and qualitative communication with children significantly impacted my development. Practical experience regarding working with children can give the person valuable experience different from theoretical materials and, therefore, be exceptionally important in the future.
Site Description
The place visited is Alamance Community College (ACC). The purpose was to attend Science Slices on 8 March and obtain valuable experience working with children. Remarkably, it was an extraordinary college with a comfortable and practical environment and significant space for working with the children effectively. In this place, particular attention was paid to educating children by creating various scenes and stations.
Activities with Kids
Communication with children occurred in different stations, each assuming particular activities and purposes. The goal was to teach kids by demonstrating to them how the muscles of the human body work. In addition, particular attention was paid to anatomy specifications regarding muscles, such as the forearm muscle group.
Notably, one of my particular tasks was teaching kids how the signal is transduced and what is released in the synapses to make the muscle contraction occur. The learning method involves coloring in diagrams and color-coding specific things. It was made to label where the action potential is propagated along the axon terminal and how it reaches the synapse.
Another issue explained to kids was how Acetylcholine is released from the vesicles in the presynaptic and then moves into the synaptic cleft. It was discussed that it binds onto cholinergic receptors on the postsynaptic and lets Sodium through.
Further, it sends the action potential along the sarcolemma and down the T-tubule. Children were explained that this process leads to the opening of protein channels that allow Calcium ions to enter and exit the Cytoplasm. Additional information for kids regarding muscle work concerned the binding of calcium and troponin, the cause of the thick filaments, the role of ATP in this process, and others. In the end, the kids were informed that the myosin head cocks into position and performs a power stroke, which causes the muscle to contract.
Strategies Used to Communicate with Students
The primary purpose of communication with children was to use the strategy of easing the scientific terms and notions by translating them into regular language to help kids understand the process. One of the most valuable approaches was giving kids analogies from real life to help them depict the material discussed. For example, an analogy of a bundle of straws tied together was used to help children understand the structure of muscles, such as the muscle fibers and others. It is essential to state that this method worked effectively and helped kids learn.
It should be highlighted that the initial attempts regarding efforts to explain the process to children have not changed. Due to the effectiveness of translating the information playfully and visually, the kids immediately showed a significant understanding of the material. The absence of the need to change the initial strategy was also caused by eliminating kids’ misunderstandings after their questions were answered thoroughly. In addition, the remarkable point is that allowing children to ask questions significantly helps to involve them in learning profoundly.
Experience with the Service Activity
This Service learning allowed me to obtain essential and unique knowledge of working with children. I want to pay particular attention to reapplying the specific methods studied in class in practice. In addition, I have elaborated on particular approaches that will be helpful in my future career. On the one hand, by answering the children’s questions, I gained a lot of knowledge and saw things from different perspectives.
On the other hand, being questioned constantly made me more confident and sharpened my skills. In the future, I would use this study method by providing analogies concerning real-life situations while communicating with people. I want to admit that practical experience is no less important than writing exams in class.
I remember how I communicated with children and how other people talked to them to explain the material. In addition, I appreciated the college’s approach to creating various stations and will use them in my future work. Consequently, I enjoyed this experience significantly and am so grateful I got this opportunity.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is essential to highlight the value of both practical and theoretical experiences and knowledge. Visiting Alamance Community College allowed me to understand many factors and peculiarities of working with people, particularly with children. It allows one to enhance the knowledge gained from lectures at university or school and acquire new, unique skills. In particular, I used many approaches by explaining difficult scientific things to the children while trying to depict them understandably and transparently.